In what is being touted as a first in the country, all police personnel in Andhra Pradesh, including constables and inspectors, will now get a weekly-off.

In an official statement, the government said, "Police constables, head constables, assistant sub-inspectors, sub-inspectors and inspectors will get to avail a weekly day off under the new system."

The YSRCP government said that this would come into effect from Wednesday and would benefit around 67,804 police personnel.

While the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government had also considered implementing the decision, it had not materialised. This was a crucial issue and also one of the assurances given by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy when he was on the campaign trail.

According to media reports, the state government took the decision by acting on the recommendations made by a committee headed by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Ravi Shankar Ayyanar.

The committee had looked into two main aspects; work pressure and strength availability of each wing under the state police, to list out if it was possible to ensure that personnel get a weekly off without disturbing law and order in the state. It proposed 19 models, out of which one has been selected.

A separate IT platform has been prepared to monitor the weekly offs and ensure that it is done in a transparent way, the state government said.

Andhra DGP Gautham Sawang also interacted with the heads of various police wings and associations from all the districts and assured them that he would personally monitor and review the weekly off system once a month.

He also said that apart from allowing them time for their personal work, it would also help in improving their physical and mental health.

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